EF 24-105L sweet spot

I've just bought my EF 24-105L and have been using it for a couple of days. I'd be interested to know from other users, where they think the sweet spot is on this lens?

It's reasonably sharp wide open, however like most lenses, it is best when it is stopped down...say f5.6-f8...

It is also weakest at 24mm and 105mm, the 2 extremes in terms of focal length...however overall it's a great lens IMO. Very happy with mine.

^ What nicksan said. Around f/5.6-8.0 is generally best and as with most zooms, try to keep it closer to the middle.

This should help, page two: http://www.photozone.d​e …s-lab-test-report--review

Softest for mine is 105MM at f4. Not suprising. Still usable.
F5.6/f8 is blinding sharp.

Have to agree with the posts above - mine is stellar except at 24mm wide open - then its just very good.
It's my most used lens, perfect on my 5D and Eos-1n.

and note that the weak spots still blow away a lot of other lenses

Double Negative wrote in post #5403510
^ What nicksan said. Around f/5.6-8.0 is generally best and as with most zooms, try to keep it closer to the middle.

This should help, page two: http://www.photozone.d​e …s-lab-test-report--review

Thanks to everyone who replied. I do use photozone.de when making decisions about buying lenses and I certainly used it before buying the 24-105 but I admit that I pay more attention to the overview and conclusion parts of the review.

Having revisited the review for the 24-105 and studied the MTF (resolution) results, it has given me a better understanding of how to use this lens properly. Yesterday I went out shooting with the lens and I had it stopped down to F11, thinking that the more I stopped it down, the sharper the image. Looking at the MTF figures on Photozone, it seems that the lens is sharper at F5.6/F8 but decreases at F11. The exception is at 105mm where F11 is sharper. I'll go out today and try and put what I've learned into practice.

Thanks again.

I use mine on the 5D and it seems very sharp at all FL that I have used it, even wide open. I have been pleasantly surprised by this lens. The only drawback is the distortion at the wide end on FF.

Just to confuse you further: the copy that I used in the past had no obvious 'sweet spot' because it was acceptably sharp at all focal lengths from wide open but just a hint softer at the 105mm end. At f/5.6 the lens delivers great results, as you would also expect from a lens of this price class.

I loved the IS, weather-sealing and the amazing zoom range, which on a FF camera did all the shots necessary for a wedding during an unpaid shoot. My friend borrowed this setup from me and was thoroughly impressed.

Things I hated were the obvious vignetting at the wide end, even when stopped down to f/8, pronounced barrel distortion at the wide end, occasionally visible pincushion distortion at the tele end, and CA at the wide end. The quality of the bokeh left me feeling neither hot nor cold. It seemed to be 'rough' at the wide end but less objectionable at the telephoto end.

Naturally, these things may or may not matter to you. For a travel combination, the 24-105mm on a FF really does the job well.

Don't get caught up in all those MTF figures.

You mean, you stopped it down to f11 because you wanted a bigger Depth of Field to get more things in focus right?

You should be thinking in terms of that...the 24-105L is sharp enough throughout that you don't have to conscioudly stop it down for sharpness.

We aren't talking about the kit lens here!

Vendee wrote in post #5406683
Thanks to everyone who replied. I do use photozone.de when making decisions about buying lenses and I certainly used it before buying the 24-105 but I admit that I pay more attention to the overview and conclusion parts of the review.

Having revisited the review for the 24-105 and studied the MTF (resolution) results, it has given me a better understanding of how to use this lens properly. Yesterday I went out shooting with the lens and I had it stopped down to F11, thinking that the more I stopped it down, the sharper the image. Looking at the MTF figures on Photozone, it seems that the lens is sharper at F5.6/F8 but decreases at F11. The exception is at 105mm where F11 is sharper. I'll go out today and try and put what I've learned into practice.

Thanks again.

Ditto what nicksan says. Don't worry about squeezing the absolute sharpness out of the lens and choosing f-stop based on the sweet spot. Choose the best focal length and aperture based on how you want to render the scene creatively. At any f-stop or focal length, the 24-105 is more than sharp enough.

Its nice to know the strengths and weaknesses of a lens so you can pick the best aperture when it isn't significant to the creative process, but don't let it dictate and overrule your creativity.

^ Agreed with the above... Don't worry about the sweet spot so much. The lens is pretty much usable at any focal length and aperture - so shoot to capture your vision.

Found mine best (with lens test chart) at f/8-f/11. Great lens. Noticably better when I got to f/5.6, but even sharper at f/8. Best money I have spent yet. Took the below images this morning. Most all were at f/7.1.

http://www.flickr.com …2/sets/72157604​744823779/